A/N: Hey guys, this is Erys and my first story written for . Any feedback you have for me is much appreciated, even if it is negative. I want to write a story that is captivating, even if the plot has been used many times before.
Summary: this story takes place just after fourth year and (hopefully if I get that far) there will be sequels for years six and seven. It is another 'Snape is Harry's father' fic. I haven't decided yet if it will follow the events of Order of the Phoenix (a.k.a. Sirius' death, Umbridge as DADA teacher, Grawp, etc.) but I will probably pick and choose as I go along.
Disclaimer: Everything you recognize belongs to the brilliant J.K. Rowling, but the plot is all mine!
Nothing else to reveal right now. On with the story!
Story: Chapter One: In which Dumbledore ponders and Harry actsAlbus Dumbledore was pondering… again. How extraordinary. The individual consuming his thoughts, even more unpredictable: Harry Potter. Ever since that fateful night of Voldemort's return, the headmaster's thoughts were rarely elsewhere. He knew that he must tell Harry the prophecy soon. But how could he knowingly lay such a heavy burden on a child? Well, Harry could hardly be called a child anymore. Not after witnessing Cedric's death and Voldemort's resurrection.
Unfortunately, the prophecy was not the only things held secret from Harry. Albus Dumbledore held a far more dangerous secret, one that no one else living knew. Knowledge that could endanger two people far more than they already were if the wrong people were to discover it.
Which leads back to Albus' current predicament. For once, he was at a complete loss for what to do. Well… almost. He knew what needed to be done. It would be his greatest trick ever: to fool the entire wizarding world without lying. Hiding something under their very noses without them realizing it. Now it was a simple matter of convincing two very stubborn people to follow along with his scheme.
A knock on the door shook him from his reverie. Too late to go back now. He would have to make up his convincing argument as he went along… quite unusual.
"Come in Severus."
Hundreds of miles away, the young man in question threw himself out of bed, gasping for breath. Face down on the floor, he lay there trying to return his breathing to normal after his vivid dream. He closed his eyes only to snap them open again. Even when he was awake, those lifeless eyes haunted him, boring into his vision. He glanced up at his clock. 8:30. How on earth had he slept in so late? Normally his nightmares woke him up four hours earlier… But then again, it had not been a normal dream. Why couldn't he remember it though?
This was the first 'vision' he had had since the one in Divination where he had seen Voldemort talking to Wormtail about Crouch. The last two weeks since his return to Private Drive had been filled with chores and attempts to do some homework. Every night however, he revisited the graveyard. No matter how exhausted he was from the day's work, he was never too tired for another nightmare.
Harry shook his head, jet-black hair flip-flopping everywhere. What had his dream contained? Voldemort was there, talking to someone… Lucius Malfoy. They were talking about someone, the strange person. But there were three of them. The boy closed his bright green eyes. No, it wasn't the stranger person; that was their name: Lestrange. A husband, wife, and brother… where had he heard that name before?
Harry strained his memory, trying to remember. It had something to do with his friend Neville Longbottom, but what? Then it clicked. Dumbledore's pensieve! Those three and Barty Crouch jr. were sentenced to a lifetime in Azkaban prison. He could picture Bellatrix Lestrange perfectly: the dark hair and heavily lidded eyes of a woman screaming that the dark lord would return; her being carried away from her trial by the dementors.
That's what Voldemort was talking about. He was going to break his 'faithful' followers out of Azkaban! He had to tell Dumbledore quickly. Voldemort was planning the massive breakout for next week. He wanted to hit the wizarding world while they were still in denial about his return. But he was only going to tell Malfoy about it until just before the attack so no one would have any knowledge of it before-hand. He was still unsure of how trustworthy some of his followers were.
Harry smirked. Well, Voldemort had one spy he was unaware of, even if that spy was accidental. If Dumbledore could put together a defense with this information, Voldemort would be furious! But it would take at least two days for an owl to reach Dumbledore, and Hedwig was off delivering a letter to Ron and wouldn't be back until tomorrow at the earliest. What could he do?
"Oh Fawkes," Harry said out loud. "I wish you were here. Then Dumbledore would be sure to get my message soon." A flash of fire sent Harry sprawling back onto the floor. What on earth? Harry thought. Suddenly he saw something that made his heart flutter with hope. "Fawkes!" he gasped scrambling to his feet. How had Dumbledore's phoenix shown up just when he was needed? "Would you please take a message to Dumbledore? It's important! I just need to write quickly. Hang on."
Harry grabbed a quill and some parchment, scribbling as fast as he could without his handwriting becoming too illegible.
Headmaster,
Voldemort is going to attempt to break his Death Eaters out of Azkaban next Thursday. The
Dementors will follow. The only person besides Voldemort who knows right now is Lucius Malfoy. The others will not find out until just before the attack. I hope you get this in time to do something.
-H.P.
"Here Fawkes," Harry said, allowing the phoenix to grab it in his beak. "Thanks!" Fawkes disappeared as fast as he had appeared in Harry's room. I hope the Headmaster will be able to stop Voldemort in time.
A/N: Just a little taste… Please review!